At Vancouver Fashion Week, this season, (April 7-10, 2022) I met Yvonne Hanson, outside of the Chinese Cultural Centre. She was that dynamic whirlwind, capturing those spectacular outfits, as they came through the iron gates, past the famous VFW letters and onto the red carpet leading to the event welcome and registration before heading into the lights and action of fashion week.
Post Covid, we are still being careful but appreciating the opportunity to dress up and meet our local and international Designers. However, the best memories are often from the photographers, who not only compose those fabulous runway videos but also masterfully convey the excitement and energy on the floor between and after the shows. Vancouver Fashion Week media is great at featuring the Designers before and after the event and sharing the memories so that it remains fresh and a reminder that the next one will be coming up soon.
The photo pit has always been a magic place for me because it is, in my mind, the place where the magic happens. I have been honored to sit there a few times, but leave that to the professionals, for sure. I thank them always for their ongoing enthusiasm and interest in sharing best shots and techniques and look forward to seeing who is new, every season. This time, watching Yvonne, I was interested in knowing more about yet another photographer (they are special, right) who took my photo and shared that this was her full time career and passion. Wow! Yvonne kindly agreed to an interview and to share a few of her favorite photos. Thank you Yvonne Hanson and I know we will see you at Vancouver Fashion Week, this Fall. And as Annie Leibovitz says: "One doesn't stop seeing. One doesn't stop framing. It doesn't turn off and turn on. It's on all the time."
Our Interview:
Q: What got you started in photography and what motivates you to continue photography as a profession?
A: I got started when a friend of mine lent me her fancy camera for a week. I took it to a few parties and snapped some portraits, and got way better results than I was expecting. A few months later, she asked if I wanted to buy it from her. Thinking I could use it to make some money on the side, I agreed. It quickly developed into much more of a passion than a job, and has remained so to this day!
Q: What professional photographer has most influenced your work?
A: That's a big question, because there’s so many who I have learned from, both online and in person! But I would say one of the most influential photographers for me has been Elizaveta Porodina. Her work is bright, colourful, and strange. She incorporates such unusual lighting techniques and textures into her work. It is very strange and I can’t figure out how she creates these images, which is why I love them so much.
Q: Fave camera and do you ever use your phone?
A: My current camera is a Nikon D780, which is my go-to for digital photography. As for film photography, I have a whole shelf of point and shoots, but my tried and true film camera is the Nikon F801s. I love it because it is a digital-age film camera, complete with screen displays, a light meter, and autofocus!
I think I developed a love for photography with my phone, because I used to take a lot of pictures on travels and adventures, and I had a plant-themed Instagram that was exclusively phone-ography for a while. I don’t use it so much anymore because I always have my good camera with me. I would highly recommend that beginners develop a love for the art by taking pictures on whatever they can. If the phone is the most accessible way to do that, then use it!
Q: At VFW, how do you decide what to shoot?
A: I have a basic “event photography” guide in my head that says: establishing shots, close up candids, posed singles, posed groups. Thats the magic formula, and so for all BTS/ backstage shots, I try to get an even mix of those. As for deciding which outfits to photograph when I am doing street style, I try to prioritize people with unique/ handmade looking outfits that really show off their own personal style rather than follow with trends. Colours, textures, and textiles all jump out at me. I also try to photograph outfits that are complemented by the background- I have a few different walls I like to shoot against and I try to sort outfits with backgrounds as much as possible. Finally, I like to shoot groups/ pairs in matching outfits, because it shows that effort and coordination went into planning for the event, and its hard to get a bad picture of a group of people who all match each other perfectly.
Q: If you were to go on a photo walk in Vancouver, what would be your fave location?
A: I am torn between Chinatown and Granville strip! Both are beautiful locations with interesting architecture that absolutely glow during golden hour, but each offers very different photography prospects.
I like Granville strip if I am taking pictures of people. The best dressed folks in Vancouver can usually be found in that area or further down Granville near waterfront, and I like to hang out by the skytrain stations snapping pictures of the best outfits that walk by.
Chinatown is a great place to photograph a changing environment. There is street art, posters, a rotation of vendors, buildings of all different colours that are frequently decorated and re-decorated, painted and re-painted. I have gotten some great shots there with shadows and angles and different layers of colour etc
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